Thursday, May 3, 2012

Today is about Mahali


Mahali has been having some issues with his hooves lately and today the veterinary staff came down to take x-rays.  Wow, that last sentence made it sound so simple.  Getting x-rays on a giraffe are very difficult and requires extensive training.  Yesterday I helped with this training which involved Mahali lifting his right and left legs, putting it on a wooden platform, holding it still.  He was doing very well with his right leg, but his left side needed some work.  We ended on a good note in training but didn't know what to expect today.  

The x-ray procedure ended up going great.  Mahali cooperated with the vet staff and allowed pictures to be taken of both legs.  


Here is a picture of the veterinary staff and I on the receiving end of the images being taken within the stall.  Hopefully these images will be able to aid the vet staff in their treatment of Mahali.  I was fortunate to hear the veterinary staff's year in review presentation today and learned about all the major animal cases in the last year! 


Today I medicated giraffes after making up each one.  One way we deliver medication to the giraffes is through giraffe crackers and bananas.  But boy do they get pretty good at finding the pills in these "giraffe smores."  Becky, on the right, has figured me out.  She will find the pill in the banana and spit it out! Now, when I offer her banana, she refuses because she knows what I am up to.  After many failed attempts, I disguised the pill as a giraffe cracker sandwich, with banana in between, and was able to get her to take it.  I have a feeling that this technique will only last me so long; tomorrow will tell.  





Life is officially good now because I have found FROYO nearby.  FROYO stands for "frozen yogurt" and it is just starting to make its way into Iowa.  If you are wondering, that is a Vanilla Pound Cake Red Velvet mix with caramel chocolates, gummy bears, and coconut--or "The Bowl of Awesome."

That's it on this end.  Hope you enjoyed the video of Grom, if you haven't seen it yet, go to the last post.

Good night!

No comments:

Post a Comment